Process for the manufacture of hydrogen



E 617 965 19270 J' 1 Y 3 Y PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF HYDROGEN Filed Feb.17, 1925 2 sheets-sheet 2 Figa refenfea Feb. 15, 1927.

` UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH ROCHET, OF PARIS, FRANCE, ASSICNOR T COMPAGNIE!!! DE PRDDUITS CHIMIQUES ET ELECTROMETALLURGIQUES-ALAIS FROGES ET CAMARGUE, 0F

PARIS, FRANCE, A CORPORATION.

PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTURE 0F 'HYDROGEN.

Application led February 17, 1925, Serial No. 9,8170, and in France April 11, 1924.

One 4known method of preparation offhydrogen consists in passing a current of water vapour over' metallic iron in suitable conditions of speed and tem erature, and in 5 then reducing the-oxide o liron formed by a reducing gas, such as producer gas, generated either with air alone, or with a mixture of air and water vapour, water-gas, coal gas,

.f blast furnace gas, etc.

tically free from carbon monoxide, is more diiiicult to eect when the reducing gas con'- tains hydrocarbons, than is the ca se for lighting as, coke oven g'as, etc., having regard to t e secondary reactions and the decompositions which may be produced. For example, if cer-tain -precautions are not taken, there is formed during the reduction phase a deposit of carbon, which when the Water' vapour is again passed glves a certain quantity of carbon monoxide, the quantity varying according to the proportions of water va our.

In or er to reduce to the minimuml the deposit of carbon, it is particularly advantageous to operate under conditions oftemperature which follow from the known laws of equilibrium and to keep the temperature as constant as possiblein the whole react= ing mass throughout the whole duration of the reaction. If, at certain points, the temperature falls too low, there may arise inter alia, especially inthe presence of ox1de of iron, the decom osition of a portion, of the carbon monoxi e with formation arbon and carbon dioxide.- If the temperature 1s too high, the hydrocarbons are liable to-decomposition with a deposit of carbon, a part of which mayffyield carbon monoxide during the oxidizing phase.

It has heretofore been proposed to put the I metallic reaction mass in a chamber consisting of an anl'giiilar space of relatively thln transverse sectibn formed between two cyl,-A 45,indricalQspace'sfwhich erve to heat this chamber` on its interna external walls. In these arrangements, Y 'ducing gas itsel which serves for heating The obtaining of pure hydrogen, prac" the spaces between which is located the anphase, -on the'contary the o eration of reduction in 'two phases 'comp 'cates the apparatus, augments the number of pipe valves or the like and multiplies 'the number of operations. p

In thel process according to the invention throughout the duration oi the whole process the heating gases are continuously following a circuit outside the reaction mass absolutely'independent of the reducing gas and the water vapour. The heating gas can never be in contact with any part of the reaction mass. The annular chamber containing this-reaction mass has no communication with the spaces traversed by the heatinggas. This annular chamber is provided with an opening onl ducing gas.

The annexed drawing represents byV way of example a preferred form of'apparatus for carrying out this process.

at each extremity for the circulation of t 1e Water vapour and the rel Fig. 1 is a general viewof the apparatus,

the' reaction apparatus pro er being shown in vertical section and the eat recuperator in external `elejgfa'tion.

Figure 2 is ifsection along 2 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 represents in vertical section,

eparately, the heat recuperatorshown in 1g. 1.y lIn Figure 1, the apparatus serving to manufacture hydrogen is constituted by two concentric vertical tubes A and B,l 'referably -of great height (4 to 5 metres the annular space C 'reduced to some centimetrensu e las (10 to 20 centimetres for example) is charged with the reacting mass consisting of metallic iron in the form of pieces of 10 to 40 mm. width and of a surface as large as possible. Heating is effected both by the interior of the central tube B and by the exterior of the tube A of larger diameter.

Experiments have shown that with cylindrical tubes and an annular space measuring up to 17 centimetres, the distribution of temperature in the interior of the mass is practically uniform. The annular space may/be substantially increased if there are employed, instead of cylindrical tubes, corrugated or undulated tubes. or tubes having ribs extending preferably in the vertical direction so as to allow of readily replacing the reacting mass.

It will be understood that with this system, the heating surfaces having parts which penetrate to the interior of the reacting` mass, the volume of the reaction chamber can be materially increased and therefore also the capacity of the apparatus for production, and a constant temperature can be obtained,'the mass being always heated in thin layers.

The corrugated shape may be confined to the interior tube in such a way that this tube possesses` a heating surface substantially equal to that of the outer tube. Whatever 'be the arrangement adopted, it is always advantageous to have substantially equal heatinr surfaces on the two sides of the material.

The progress of the operation is as follows: V

The reacting mass, arranged in the space C, is raised to a constant and uniform temperature b the heating gases passing in the interior of7 the tube along the path indicated at f1 and in the space surrounding the tube A by a bailed circulation in the direction f2; water vapor is supplied to the space C which it traverses alongthe path shown by the arrows ff.` When the oxldizing period is terminated, the current of water vapour is stopped and replaced by a r-=vcurrent of reducing gas, such as producer gas, water gas, coal gas, etc. likewise circulating in the direction of the arrows f". The water vapour may moreover be circulated in the oppositev direction to the reducing gas. A certain number of p rometers D are arranged at different leve s.

The reaction apparatus itself is "followed by a heatfrecuperator (see particularly` Figs..

2 and 3). vThis recuperator is made by the superposition of a plurality of elements or caissons, each ofwhich is divided b paralf 'lel vertical partitions into` narrow c ambers of'which the .ones E `'serve for tl vertical circulationhand the others F serve for the hdrizontal circulation. The chambers E are o pen at their upper and lower ends and are bers F for the horizontal circulation are closed at their upper and lower ends byhorizontal partitions but their two lateral extremities are open. The flan ges permit simple gas tight connections between, thc adjoining units.

The gas having served to heat the reaction apparatus (follow the arrow f1 and f2 on Fig. 1) passes into the recuperator, circulating in the horizontal chambers FV of this recuperator and abandoning its heat either to the reducing ygas or to the water vapor whose circulation is caused from bottom to top in the super-imposed vertical chambers E. The reducing gases and the water vapour thus enter the reaction apparatus at av temperature very near to thereaction temperature with the result that the temperature is very uniform throughout the whole of the reaction zone. l

This process presents the Afollowing advantages, amongst others:

1. The obtaining ofconstant and uniform temperatureeither during the reduction phase or during the oxidation phase. This 1s particularly important when one wishes to obtain pure hydrogen from oil gas or gas containing hydrocarbons.` This constancy of temperature is obtained by the complete independence ofthe circuits of the heating gas and the reaction gas, bythe employment of surface regenerators and by the fact that the heating is very methodical The heating gas after having raised the reaction kchamber to a suitable temperature reheats the reducing gas and theuwater vapour,which is'coming 1n the opposite direction, to a temperature in the neighborhood of the reaction temperature. Raisin and lowering of the temperature, which avors the secondary reactions harmful to the purity of the hydrogen, is thus avoided.

2. Better utilization of the .heating gases with economy in caloriesfor the heating. This results from the fact that the gas serving for heating-which may be any desired-leaves the lapparatus after having tranferred its calories to the reducing gas or to the water vapour-which enters in the opposite direction, then leaving-at what may be called a low temperature (in the neighborhood of 200). f f

3. Long life to the castings, metals'or alloys used in the construction of the apparatus, by reason of the fact that the temperature is regular and uniform and that the ing oxide of iron by -reducinggases, in which l the reacting mass is arrangedin an annular space of a relatively narrow sectional area, formed between two cylindrical vessels serv- -ing for theheating of this chamber upon its external and internal wal1s,-the method consisting in continuously passing, during the Whole period of theI process, the heating gases, `externally to the reacting mass, along a circuit completely independent of the circuit of the Water vapour and ofthe reducing gases, and preventing any contact of the heating gases with the reacting mass, for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JOSEPH RocHET. 

